There was a ton to see on the floor of the exhibit hall during the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Atlanta. And it was certainly a challenge to take it all in.
In case you missed it, here are some of the stand-out items that caught the attention of Dan Zimmerman from our companion service, Shooting News Weekly.
Palmetto State’s New Sabre-10 K1 .308 Rifle
Palmetto State’s Sabre-10 AR-10 line was introduced back in 2023 and has become increasingly popular because of its features and price. The latest addition, their Sabre-10 K1, was announced at SHOT and just became available last week.
The Sabre-10 K1 has a 7075 billet receiver, a hard-chromed bolt carrier group, Sabre Claw two-stage trigger, B5 furniture and it’s built to run suppressed.
And if you’re going to shoot it suppressed — and why wouldn’t you? — it’s the 12-position Riflespeed adjustable gas block that will really interest you. That lets you tune your rifle for your can to ensure quiet, reliable cycling.
Read more on Shooting News Weekly
The New Hi-Point (Yes, Hi-Point) HP-15 AR Rifle and Pistol
Check your calendar. No, it’s not April 1. These really are AR-15 platform rifles and pistols from Hi-Point. Like, for real. MKS Supply — better known as Hi-Point Firearms — is producing AR platform guns. Their new HP-15 will come in both a standard 16-inch rifle model as well as a 10.5-inch pistol. The pistol will be available in 5.56 and 300 Blackout and the rifle will be 5.56 only. At least for now.
The folks at Hi-Point tell me the reason for getting into the AR business is simple. They sell their pistols to a lot of first-time gun buyers. When those people are ready to jump up to something bigger that isn’t a pistol caliber carbine, they’ve been looking elsewhere. Now the company will have rifle caliber options to keep them within the Hi-Point ecosystem.
As you’d expect, the HP-15s will be reasonably priced. MSRP will be under $500. That probably means retail prices at or under $400. In other words, a great first AR for new(er) gun owners. Hi-Point plans to begin shipping in June.
Read more on Shooting News Weekly
Magpul’s New DAKA Universal GRID Organizer System
I’ve been a fan of Magpul’s DAKA GRID organizing system for a while. I got one for my Pelican 1700 case a few months ago. If you wanted to use Magpul’s highly configurable GRID system to replace the pluckable foam in your current hard case, you had to wait for Mapul to make a version for your particular model.
No longer.
Last week Magpul announced the new universal version of the DAKA GRID system they talked about at SHOT is now available. The universal version lets you cut and customize it to fit just about any container. Just look, for instance, at the Savior Guitar Case they installed it in above.
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Two New Creations From the Mad Scientists at Rossi
WTAF? Why the hell not? Who says we can’t? Crazy, but sure. Come on, let’s do it.
You have to think that some or all of those were heard around amongst the Rossi design team when they contemplated extending their R95 lever gun and Brawler pistol lines to include these latest mutations. Both seem to be ideas so crazy they just might be a hell of a lot of fun.
First up is the R95 Triple Black pistol. Rossi announced their R95 Triple Black lever guns at the end of 2024. They’re Rossi’s version of the increasingly popular “tactical” lever gun genre. They chambered it in good, traditional lever gun calibers like .30-30 and .45-70.
Now, however, they’ve decided that a pistol version is just the thing. And they’re offering the R95 Triple Black Pistol pistol calibers like .357, .44 Magnum, .454 Casull and… .45-70. Because boom.
Futher along the WTAF scale is Rossi’s latest chambering of its Brawler single shot pistol. Rossi first rolled out this big boy in a .45-70/.410 model. Now, though, they’ve added 5.56 and .300 Blackout chamberings.
Unlike the slab-sided barrels on the .45-70 guns, these new calibers have beefy 9-inch round bull barrels and are threaded for suppressors.
Read more on Shooting News Weekly
Ruger’s New RXD Dead Air Collaboration Silencers
Ruger’s new RXD collaboration silencers — in a partnership with Dead Air — aren’t just re-badged current Dead Air models. And they aren’t simple stacks of K baffles thrown into an aluminum tube, either. Dead Air started from scratch with the RXD design. As you can see, the core of their RXD22Ti (above) is an intricate 3D-printed Triskelion design (meant to minimize first-round pop) in a titanium tube to keep it as light as possible.
It attaches via an included rimfire muzzle brake . . .that screws into the RXD22Ti’s titanium mount. Dead Air tells us the brake will keep more filthy rimfire lead and gunk out of that 3D core. If so, that will make users’ lives much more enjoyable due to less time having to clean out rimfire residue.
The approach to their RXD30Ti was much the same. Again, it’s a 3D-printed Triskelion core contained in a titanium tube. As Dead Air’s Christian Chatellier told us, while the RXD30Ti will be right at home shooting in a PRS competition, Ruger and Dead Air intended this suppressor for America’s hunters.
Read more on Shooting News Weekly
Sierra MatchKing-X (MKX) Bullets for Shooting and Hunting
People love shooting Sierra MatchKing bullets. Whether they roll their own or shoot the bullets loaded into cartridges from big name ammo makers, they know they’re shooting first rate, precise gun food. But lots of shooters then wonder if they can also use their favorite round to hunt. The answer Sierra has always given them is…no.
That’s because SMK bullets aren’t engineered to expand enough to use for hunting. That was behind Sierra’s latest round, the MatchKing-X. While its has virtually the same profile, Sierra makes the MKX with a thinner jacket mouth and nose along with using a softer lead core. While the MKX ballistic coefficient is virtually the same as traditional MatchKing, MKX rounds expand the way hunters need them to.
That means you can use MatchKing-X rounds to shoot for distance and precision the way you’ve used traditional MatchKing, but also use them to hunt.
Read more on Shooting News Weekly
Trijicon’s New, More Affordable MRO SD Reflex Sight
Trijicon’s MRO — Miniature Rifle Optic — has been the gold standard in smaller rifle red dots for years. It’s built like a tank, can withstand damn-near any abuse you can dish out, and it’s made in America. That kind of provenance and performance, however, doesn’t come cheaply. The MRO HD has an MSRP of $1,010.
But as of last week, you can get an MRO for significantly less dinero.
The new MRO SD is a 1×25 reflex sight just like the MRO HD. But the HD gives you a choice of a 2 MOA dot, a 68 MOA reticle or both. And while the HD gives you 16 brightness settings, the SD gives you eight. The SD offers only the 2 MOA dot.
Those differences reduce the MSRP down to $768. The actual retail price is about $570 retail. Yes, that’s still expensive, but you don’t get bulletproof build quality and made in America peace of mind for nothing.
Read more on Shooting News Weekly
– Dan Zimmerman, Shooting News Weekly